This legislation is a restructuring of the Civil Forfeiture Procedure Act which impacts drug forfeitures and seizures.  This statute is one of law enforcement's most effective tools in bringing down criminal enterprises. The district attorney, through a judicial process, can seize cars, cash and property of drug dealers and other criminals.  Many county commissioners refer to this forfeited property as drug fund money. The funds and property are used for law enforcement training, equipment and investigative expenses. The revised HB 1 standardizes the reporting requirements for law enforcement, and creates a new process for district attorney forfeiture funds.

This bill allows "failure to wear a seat belt" to be admissible as evidence in civil actions for the purpose of mitigating damages in some cases. Georgia counties are often defendants in cases involving motor vehicle accidents where plaintiffs argue that an accident was caused by a defect in a county road. This bill allows counties, as defendants, to introduce evidence that if a front-seat passenger, age 18 years or older, had been wearing a seatbelt (as required by law), he or she may have suffered less extensive injuries. If a jury finds that the failure to wear a seat belt contributed to the occupant's injuries, the jury may reduce the occupant's recovery to the extent that the injuries were caused by failure to wear the seat belt.    

This bill allows "failure to wear a seat belt" to be admissible as evidence in civil actions for the purpose of mitigating damages.  Georgia counties are often defendants in cases involving motor vehicle accidents where the plaintiffs argue that an accident was caused in an alleged defect in a county road.  This bill simply allows counties, as defendants, to introduce evidence that if a front seat passenger, aged 14 years or older, had been wearing a seat belt as required by law, he or she may have suffered less extensive injuries.  If a jury finds that the failure to wear a seat belt contributed to the occupant's injuries, the jury would be required to reduce the occupant's recover to the extent that the injuries were caused by failure to wear the seat belt.

This legislation makes communication between a law enforcement officer (or their immediate family) and a peer counselor privileged during investigations of a law enforcement officer.